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James Robinson Promises Unique Adventures for Wanda in New "Scarlet Witch" Series

For the first time in Marvel Comics history, Wanda Maximoff is getting her own ongoing series. Titled "Scarlet Witch," the new series will be penned by writer James Robinson ("Fantastic Four") and penciled by a different artist each issue. Robinson spoke with Marvel.com about the series and discussed how he will forge the character's identity and update her with her own villains and supporting cast.

"I was definitely inspired by what [Matt] Fraction and David Aja have done on 'Hawkeye,'" he explained, "How they managed to stay true to the character in the Avengers while also taking it in a fresh direction, so it wasn't just that same Avengers character doing solo things, which I don't think ever really works for any sustained period of time for any of those second-tier characters."

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"To a lot of people her personality is her back story," he continued. "Who she is as a person, it's all about her back story. There's nothing current about her. There's nothing about her as a human being, as a woman, living in the world, interacting in the world. And I think now that her father's no longer Magneto, I think that it's the perfect time to showcase her as an independent character, as a witch, and give her adventures that are unique to her, that could only be adventures that she would have."

"I'm going to give her her own villains, her own supporting cast and her own place in the world," he added. "She has realized that as much as there's a part of her that will always be an Avenger, she's been sort of living under that umbrella for so long it's become her identity, and she wants her own place in the world."

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In addition to her own villains, Wanda will also receive a new supporting cast. "Her regular supporting character will be the ghost of Agatha Harkness, who will act as sort of her spiritual Alfred, so to speak... Or spectral, rather --a sort of spectral Alfred, for want of a better word. Her adviser, her confidante, and someone that will make catty comments at her when she's acting like a spoiled brat."

Of her previous breakdowns, he said, "She suffered from periods of mental instability, and she wants to know if that's something that she needs to treat herself with the established ways that you treat mental illness, or if the practice of witchcraft is affecting her mentally as well. She has a personal stake, as well as a sense of wanting to fix it in the big picture."

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"I've been talking to Jason Aaron about making sure that she isn't just a female Doctor Strange," Robinson shared. "There [are] differences even between her and Doctor Strange so that her magic is different; I'm really making a point of stressing that there's a female energy that connects with a certain kind of magic. As a sort of shorthand, I'm calling it 'witchcraft,' but there are literally areas of dimensions that she can go to that Doctor Strange wouldn't be able to go to, because he's a man."